The data shows phone use, hands free or not, makes drivers less safe than when they're drunk. Texting is worse. Depending on government regulation and tort lawyers, we can have hands free driving in the next 10 years, which will make driver distractions irrelevant.

My concern with new IT technologies has many aspects. First hand I love the convienience and connectivity. The ergonomics of the implementation must be subtle and elegant to limit distraction. An old radio with a volume control and a few pushbuttons is a far cry from 'treeing' through a myriad of menu choices. The Apple approach to organic function is needed here.
Second what buisness does big brother have in my car? Where do we draw the line on personal space?

What are we talking about? Systems that warn about too close proximity to another vehicle? Systems that warn of the vehicle straying off its traffic lane? Systems that assist in parking maneuvers? Systems that warn of road conditions ahead?
Are we talking about emergency systems that come alive when air bags have deployed? And provide vehicle location and automatic alert to EMS?
Nope, I don't want any of those "features" in my vehicles. Just more stuff to drive up the acquisition cost and to break.
Are we talking about availability of hands-free telephone? That can be distracting, but sometimes its really convenient. I find myself using that for extremely short phone calls, but I use it often enough to be useful. "Do you want me to stop at the store on my way home?" Only takes a second.
Distracting and dangerous. Your mind is no longer on your primary job - driving your vehicle.

"Insurance rate increase potential based on in-car technology concerned 41%"
I think this is the essence of the privacy concerns.
Consumers for the most part are not overly concerned about their privacy or about being tracked when using their cell phones in any other context. But if you raise the question of being tracked while driving, now consumers worry that their driving habits will be recorded and used to help decide auto insurance premiums.
Bert is right, the way in which the questions are asked makes a huge difference in the poll results.

You gotta wonder about the accuracy or proper question formulation of these polls. On the one hand, the majority like these "technologies," whatever they are (58 and 57 percent like). By the same token, the majority also thinks that these "technologies" are dangerous distractions (76 percent). So, either those polled merely understand the tradeoffs, or they are interpreting the questions in different ways.
What are we talking about? Systems that warn about too close proximity to another vehicle? Systems that warn of the vehicle straying off its traffic lane? Systems that assist in parking maneuvers? Systems that warn of road conditions ahead? I can't fathom how anyone would object to any of these.
Are we talking about emergency systems that come alive when air bags have deployed? And provide vehicle location and automatic alert to EMS? Well, perhaps the more paranoid will worry that their every movement is being tracked by "the government."
Are we talking about availability of hands-free telephone? That can be distracting, but sometimes its really convenient. I find myself using that for extremely short phone calls, but I use it often enough to be useful. "Do you want me to stop at the store on my way home?" Only takes a second.
Or are we talking about car radios and iPod plug-in playback?
Vague polls just beg for each respondent to be assuming something different from the next respondent.